What contributes most to harvesting MONSTER BUCKS

[CRB]

 

I could throw any idiot out in the woods and if he walks long enough he to will find a shed or a track its inevitable. Everything you said in the first post can be found in any decent book but putting it all together in the field is a whole different ball game, I hope you do kill many more great bucks I wish that for everybody so yes i respectfully agree to disagree!

[AZantlerhead]

That's OK crb, we will respectfully disagree, on this subject anyway.. I know what I did to get that buck......all the things I listed, and was nice enough to share with others of how I got "lucky" . And the shed hunting.........nevermind, we disagree again. .

 

I'm trying to get this topic back on track coues7 but It seems someone else with a booner (or maybe a few of them) needs to chime in as my thoughts/tactics/advice/testimony/tips are dismissed as just luck untill I do it again............ go figure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Red Rabbit]

For some...Luck...right spot at right time

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/2009092...photo+and+video

[CRB]

That's OK crb, we will respectfully disagree, on this subject anyway.. I know what I did to get that buck......all the things I listed, and was nice enough to share with others of how I got "lucky" . And the shed hunting.........nevermind, we disagree again. .

 

I'm trying to get this topic back on track coues7 but It seems someone else with a booner (or maybe a few of them) needs to chime in as my thoughts/tactics/advice/testimony/tips are dismissed as just luck untill I do it again............ go figure.

my last response and i'll let this go but how many times had you seen that deer before you shot it or how many sheds off of that particular deer do you have that is my point there are big bucks in every unit, some people are more skilled than others but even the rookies kill big bucks sometimes. I am not saying you arent a good hunter I am sure you are very knowledgeable as for this topic in particular the more time in the field behind the glasses and yes walking for miles and miles will help but even after locating a big buck before your hunt it is going to be completely different when there are hundreds of other hunters in the field so yes even for the greatest of hunters luck will eventually play a very important part of the hunt.

 

azantlerhead I meant no disrespect toward your abilitys and wish you the best of luck this year I was simply giving my opinion on your post.

[AZantlerhead]

That's OK crb, we will respectfully disagree, on this subject anyway.. I know what I did to get that buck......all the things I listed, and was nice enough to share with others of how I got "lucky" . And the shed hunting.........nevermind, we disagree again. .

 

I'm trying to get this topic back on track coues7 but It seems someone else with a booner (or maybe a few of them) needs to chime in as my thoughts/tactics/advice/testimony/tips are dismissed as just luck untill I do it again............ go figure.

 

my last response and i'll let this go but how many times had you seen that deer before you shot it or how many sheds off of that particular deer do you have that is my point there are big bucks in every unit, some people are more skilled than others but even the rookies kill big bucks sometimes. I am not saying you arent a good hunter I am sure you are very knowledgeable as for this topic in particular the more time in the field behind the glasses and yes walking for miles and miles will help but even after locating a big buck before your hunt it is going to be completely different when there are hundreds of other hunters in the field so yes even for the greatest of hunters luck will eventually play a very important part of the hunt.

 

azantlerhead I meant no disrespect toward your abilitys and wish you the best of luck this year I was simply giving my opinion on your post.

I didn't see that deer once before I got him, or I woulda shot him then, The shed I found in the wash behind our camp actually just led me to the group of them, or their bedroom anyway, away from the masses of hunters. The location(s) I found on that hunt are just that, where they go and stick once the gunshots/ traffic starts up, or where they would be anyways. They'll be there again, if not, I have a backup plan(honey hole) a couple more miles into the Rough.. . No scouting this year dureing my hunt, just waiting, watching, spotting and shooting(Hunting).

 

None taken my friend, that's what it's all about, shareing our opinions. You are with the masses that say I was just lucky, I hope to prove everyone wrong, I was hopeing to be noted as an accomplished hunter with last years buck, I dedicated that buck to my dad when we did the pics/haul out., For teaching me too hunt and passing on his wisdom- we both got a little chocked up., no joke, and did as he told me to, when I was leaving the camper at 4 a.m that last morning, "Get the Big One" as he knew I had found the group and was sitting /glassing their bedroom the previous two days, and pin pointing their bedroom the first four days of the hunt. It was only a matter of time till they showed and gave me my Shot opp.

 

Who needs luck when your good? I hope this is read as confident and not cocky, cause that's what I'm trying to relate. And the thing about well written books and the tactics there in, or thousands of hours of hunting shows, endless advice from my Dad and other hunters , THEY WORK, along with the priceless time/miles in the field I've put in.. Pro's don't rely on luck. Neither will I, nor did I.

 

ECCLESTIASTES 9:10

[firstcoueswas80]

That's OK crb, we will respectfully disagree, on this subject anyway.. I know what I did to get that buck......all the things I listed, and was nice enough to share with others of how I got "lucky" . And the shed hunting.........nevermind, we disagree again. .

 

I'm trying to get this topic back on track coues7 but It seems someone else with a booner (or maybe a few of them) needs to chime in as my thoughts/tactics/advice/testimony/tips are dismissed as just luck untill I do it again............ go figure.

 

my last response and i'll let this go but how many times had you seen that deer before you shot it or how many sheds off of that particular deer do you have that is my point there are big bucks in every unit, some people are more skilled than others but even the rookies kill big bucks sometimes. I am not saying you arent a good hunter I am sure you are very knowledgeable as for this topic in particular the more time in the field behind the glasses and yes walking for miles and miles will help but even after locating a big buck before your hunt it is going to be completely different when there are hundreds of other hunters in the field so yes even for the greatest of hunters luck will eventually play a very important part of the hunt.

 

azantlerhead I meant no disrespect toward your abilitys and wish you the best of luck this year I was simply giving my opinion on your post.

I didn't see that deer once before I got him, or I woulda shot him then, The shed I found in the wash behind our camp actually just led me to the group of them, or their bedroom anyway, away from the masses of hunters. The location(s) I found on that hunt are just that, where they go and stick once the gunshots/ traffic starts up, or where they would be anyways. They'll be there again . No scouting this year dureing my hunt, just hunting.

None taken my friend, that's what it's all about, shareing our opinions. You are with the masses that say I was just lucky, I hope to prove everyone wrong, I was hopeing to be noted as an accomplished hunter with last years buck, I dedicated that buck to my dad when we did the pics/haul out., For teaching me too hunt and passing on his wisdom- we both got a little chocked up., no joke, and did as he told me to, when I was leaving the camper at 4 a.m that last morning, "Get the Big One" as he knew I had found the group and was sitting /glassing their bedroom the previous two days, and pin pointing their bedroom the first four days of the hunt.

 

Who needs luck when your good? I hope this is read as confident and not cocky, cause that's what I'm trying to relate. And the thing about well written books and the tactics there in, or thousands of hours of hunting shows , THEY WORK, along with the priceless time/miles in the field I've put in.. Pro's don't rely on luck. Neither will I, nor did I.

 

 

I might be sadly mistaken, but wasnt that your first buck?

[SunDevil]

I think to consistantly harvest big bucks (100+ inchers) year after year, the most important thing is to spend a TON of time in the field. you might shoot a big buck in one spot one year and go in there the next year and the biggest buck around is 85. guess what, you are going to have to hit the ground and go find a different spot with a big buck in it. if you are going to do this, it would probably be a good idea to keep a journal so that when you find some upper 90 inch bucks one year, you will remember where to go look the next year for your 100 incher. this will take a lot of dedication as well as a lot of patience to not only keep looking for those big bucks but also to not shoot those 95 inchers. don't want to settle for something less than what you have set your goal at and will need to let those 95 inchers grow up to be over 100. once you find your buck, better keep at it and keep an eye on him until the season starts. there are numerous stories on this site about guys that have watched deer for 2 - 3 years waiting for them to grow up and be big enough to harvest. good binos, salt, trail cams, good maps, google earth, a gas saving truck, an understanding family, snake boots, lots of boot leather, lots of sun screen, lots of bug spray, ability to shed hunt in may and june will all contribute to your success.

[AZantlerhead]

No was not my first buck, yes it was my first Coues tag and buck. I know what your implying, I'm not stupid, How can a rookie be good? is that What you were really asking??

 

I have ben the brunt of many sneeres and snickers because of it. It sems some fellas have hunted them for a long time and never figured umm out, or the bigguns anyway. I learn fast I guess, and use tactics instead of wonder if they reall work, and hunt harder than most, and go farther than most and hunt down my quarry like my life depends on it.. I'll never get the credit I deserve for that buck, except from my Dad , until I do it again. Wich is bs, but I can except that, and relish in the opportunity and challenge.

 

 

Jeeze , I started out lending the tactics I was successful in useing and ended up the bad guy for killing a Big one. People like me though, will take every tid bit of proven advice with a thanks and run with it, use it to make their Coues dreams come true as I did , yes, with my first, people not so like me will probly never get it. I got it right the first time, Big Coues hunting that is.

 

Ohh, in case I never thanked CWT and it's members for lending advice and knowledge on coues deer, THANKS . Definatley contributed to my first Coues being a Stroker.

 

I could also thank a bunch of other sources that filled my thoughts and bag of tricks. But then I was the one out there Working to bring it all together and make it happen wasn't I. Try as people might, they can't take that from me.............

 

Ok, I'm seriously done with this topic and those that believe a big buck is nothin but luck..................... PEACE

[firstcoueswas80]

Let me tell you a little secret from personal experience.

 

Yeah, you killed a heck of a buck your first buck. So what. That makes 1 in a row. When I first got here, I was like you... Young, dumb and.... yeah that one. Anyways, I went around (still do a little) tooting my own horn. Especially when I had the tag I had waited for for a LONG time. December 36b. Anyways, if you continue to pound your chest like King Kong like I did, it will bite you in the arse. I PROMISE you this. Next thing you know, you are shooting deer in the head and blowing thier skull plates apart.

 

Then, god forbid you kill a small buck, or dont kill at all. Believe me, the pressure and the jokes at your expense will get to you.

 

Face the facts. YOU ARE A COUES ROOKIE! Heck, I am a Coues rookie! (I have 7 under my belt, biggest is 92" or so, broken skull plate!) You have killed one buck, albeit a dang fine speciemen. It takes many, many more hunts and succesful hunts with your tag hanging on a big, mature buck to say you are GOOD. I personally know the person who I, and many other people believe to be the best Coues deer hunter in the world. He is the most humble, hunter there is. When you kill record book bucks year after year and pass on a 110" gross bucks because they are "too small", then you can call yourself good. Until then, call a spade a spade. A bunch of luck, and some skill came together to get you a awesome buck.

 

Should you be proud as can be about that buck? Heck yeah! He is one bad arse buck! Should you think you are the worlds greatest Coues hunter because you have ONE bad arse buck?! HECK NO! Like I said, this is from personal experience... A slice of Humble Pie goes a LONG way, both here and in the real world.

 

May we ALL kill Booner bucks.

[bowhunter4life]

 

here is monster buck that had 3 does with him in the middle of the rut. a monster is in the eye of the hunter. sometimes we have to a take lower caliber bucks to keep our check and balances in order.

I took him a few years ago score 15". I can tell you this buck gave me the same rush and excitment as my last 2 100" archery bucks.

 

my advice is not get all worked up about a score of antler but enjoy your time. enjoy your fellowship with friends and family. enjoy the outdoors of az!

give the respect to all bucks no matter what the score. any harvest is just a bonus

 

 

 

 

[jakehaffey]

here is monster buck that had 3 does with him in the middle of the rut. a monster is in the eye of the hunter. sometimes we have to a take lower caliber bucks to keep our check and balances in order.

I took him a few years ago score 15". I can tell you this buck gave me the same rush and excitment as my last 2 100" archery bucks.

 

my advice is not get all worked up about a score of antler but enjoy your time. enjoy your fellowship with friends and family. enjoy the outdoors of az!

give the respect to all bucks no matter what the score. any harvest is just a bonus

 

 

 

 

 

+1

 

My dad always told me that any kill was just the icing on the cake. The reason we hunt is because we enjoy it. Every aspect of the hunt from the draw to the scouting trips to opening morning is something I look forward to. If your focus is just on the score of the buck then you dont enjoy the rest of it. If you are the greatest hunter out there, what do you get? A bunch of great memories like the rest of us.

[Brian Payne]

You know what the difference between 100 and 110. !0 inches. 5 inches a side. Big wow! People start obsessing about monster bucks and scouting them and baby sitting them, keeping a code of silence. The worst of human emotions becomes evident. Those one's that are against the commandments. Like do not covet thy neighbors rack! Really if you can keep it all positive. Keep jealousy and greed out of the equation good for you. If you can honestly shake a hunters hand that just shot "your monster buck" then I say you have a good balance. There is the other side. We have heard the stories. The sick ones. splitting the skull for a few points here. Knocking a point off there for a bigger net score. Kicking the wrong deer off the cliff because you thought he was the one. Shooting a deer a week early while your best hunting buddy lie in the hospital. I use to think, that I would like to be a trophy hunter. The challenge of it appeals to me, but the competitiveness of it sickens me. I don't just mean competitiveness between hunters. I mean the competitiveness within the mind. The thought that a 111 inch buck could some how be superior to a 109 inch buck is nonsense. The concept of ground shrinkage is a joke. "I swore he was 115, but he only taped out to 105, so I am disappointed." What? So I have given up my trophy hunting aspirations a while a go. The ironical thing is I shoot larger animals now, when I truly don't care. I hunt for fun and fun only. If it is no longer fun I will quit. Going back to Scott's original post. I would be proud to put my tag around an 86 inch whitetail. I would never pass it up. So my answer to the question "What contributes most to harvesting MONSTER BUCKS." My answer would have to be. WHY?

Bob

 

It all boils down to this; Not everyone's reason for hunting is the same. Just because two guys go to a car dealership doesn't mean they want the same car. One guy may be looking for a fast sporty ride so that he can pick up girls while the next guy is looking for a minivan to haul is wife and four kids around. It is silly for the sportscar guy to make fun of the minivan guy for buying a slow ugly car just like it is silly for the minivan guy to make fun of the sportscar guy for buying something without any room or ammenities. As long as they both get what they want out of their car then all is well. Us hunters like to think our reason for hunting is the only good reason and everyone else is screwed up. The truth is that some people hunt solely to put meat in the freezer, others want a trophy on the wall as well, others want the challange of getting their name in the record book, others just want to spend time with friends and family, others just want to drink beer and get away from their spouses or work, and the truth is that they are all great reasons to hunt and as long as you get what you want out of it that then the hunt is a success!

 

I personally like to hunt big bucks and the gross score of the buck is how I measure that. I love the meat but I also love the site of a big rack on my wall and the extra work that goes into making that happen. That is my reason but to each his own.

 

I do agree that the cheating and fighting over public land areas and bucks that goes on is a disgrace to the sport and to the hunters that participate in it as well as the animals that they kill. Some people will take every advantage they can get away with even if it is illegal to kill big bucks and in my opinion if you have to cheat to make it happen then you have not accomplished anything.

 

One last point. Bob, if you are so against trophy hunting why do you have a BIG muley buck as your avatar? Why don't you put a forked horn picture in there to prove your point?

[bobbyo]

Let me tell you a little secret from personal experience.

 

Yeah, you killed a heck of a buck your first buck. So what. That makes 1 in a row. When I first got here, I was like you... Young, dumb and.... yeah that one. Anyways, I went around (still do a little) tooting my own horn. Especially when I had the tag I had waited for for a LONG time. December 36b. Anyways, if you continue to pound your chest like King Kong like I did, it will bite you in the arse. I PROMISE you this. Next thing you know, you are shooting deer in the head and blowing thier skull plates apart.

 

Then, god forbid you kill a small buck, or dont kill at all. Believe me, the pressure and the jokes at your expense will get to you.

 

Face the facts. YOU ARE A COUES ROOKIE! Heck, I am a Coues rookie! (I have 7 under my belt, biggest is 92" or so, broken skull plate!) You have killed one buck, albeit a dang fine speciemen. It takes many, many more hunts and succesful hunts with your tag hanging on a big, mature buck to say you are GOOD. I personally know the person who I, and many other people believe to be the best Coues deer hunter in the world. He is the most humble, hunter there is. When you kill record book bucks year after year and pass on a 110" gross bucks because they are "too small", then you can call yourself good. Until then, call a spade a spade. A bunch of luck, and some skill came together to get you a awesome buck.

 

Should you be proud as can be about that buck? Heck yeah! He is one bad arse buck! Should you think you are the worlds greatest Coues hunter because you have ONE bad arse buck?! HECK NO! Like I said, this is from personal experience... A slice of Humble Pie goes a LONG way, both here and in the real world.

 

May we ALL kill Booner bucks.

 

"Mama our boy is all grown up."

Good post Casey. I think the shooting the skull plate right off a Coues buck could be your personal trade mark. Kind of like a Z with Zorro. Only downside is cape damage, but you can have the cape off my 86" buck if it fits on the monster you get this year. Remember," Aim right between the antlers." I think that should be your byline.

Bob

[Brian Payne]

Dustin,

I have always enjoyed your posts and spirit for hunting and I don't doubt for a minute that you have a lot of great hunting skills and determination. I know some of the areas that you hike in to and they are not for your average Joe Hunter. It sucks that you have gotten grief about your buck and it all just stems from jealousy. I do have to say this though; whether you believe in luck or not, the ODDS of doing what you did are not very good. Each unit only holds a handfull of bucks like the one you killed. Most coues units contain hundreds of square miles of coues country so the ODDS of finding a buck like that are not very good until you have scouted numerous areas for numerous hours/days. That is what the accomplished hunters have done, gotten the ODDS in their favor by covering enough country and spending enough time behind their binos that they eventually find a monster buck. Then they go back and figure out where he travels. Then they go find another one in case someone else knows about that one. Please don't take this post the wrong way. I congratulate you on your awesome buck and hope you do it again. Just understand that there are many very skilled hunters on this site that have not been fortunate enough to kill a buck like yours yet simply because the ODDS of doing it aren't that good.

[AZantlerhead]

Thanks for the Humble pie Firstcoues. really.

 

I did not mean to come across as arrogant or " toot my own horn" too much or anything, I was simply trying to get it across that I worked very hard and put everything I had into harvesting that buck. And it could work for others and myself again hopefully.

 

It just urkes me a little when I don't get any credit for it...........dismissed at Begginers luck, or luck peroid. Is there no such thing as a good young hunter?

 

No king kong here, or pro coues hunter. Just a young man, cursed by a Big buck, that will try his best to make the majic happen again, believeing he did everything right and can do it again. Yes, your right, I've set myself up for even more badgering if I get a small one or none at all. Seems, I have put most the pressure on myself of course.

 

 

This is what Bobbyo was saying about competiton within your own mind I guess. I should probly lower my goals to make others feel better and myself if I fail, or just not listen to all this and go Git-R-done. Food for thought, Time will tell.............

 

If he really is my Buck Of A lifetime, or just the first of many........ I'll be happy either way I guess. Ok, Forkie or bust!!! lol , there, I've now set myself up for great success, and tender meat . no wait, spike unicorn or nothin!!!!!!!!

 

Not, 100in will satisfy me, personally. no wait 85, no a straight 3x3, o brother, I'm competing with myself again